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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Karen Binder-Brynes

Aired August 24, 2002 - 17:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: For nearly a year now, we have all revisited the trauma of the September 11 terror attacks. Concern now that many Americans may feel even more overwhelmed with the approaching year mark. Karen Binder-Brynes is a psychologist in New York who treats people with post-traumatic stress disorders. Thanks for joining us.
KAREN BINDER-BRYNES, PSYCHOLOGIST: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you too. Very few people can say that they've completely healed post-9/11. So for that group of people, what concerns do you have about the emotions they may be feeling on 9/11?

BINDER-BRYNES: Well, first of all, a year anniversary is a very important mark after any traumatic event, and particularly a trauma of this size. It is a point where people will be looking back and reflecting on what happened, and it's a point where people will be trying to decide what to do now and how to cope. And there really is no one answer to how people should be feeling now, or whether, in fact, they should be ready to move on at this point.

WHITFIELD: And there really is no, you know, one emotion people are experiencing, like you said. But for a segment of the communities out there who say, you know what, I'm just going to try and forget all of this, that's my way of dealing with it, there is no way you can get around the newspaper clippings, the magazines, the media coverage as we approach this 9/11. So what do you expect the emotions will be among those who have tried so hard to shut it all out?

BINDER-BRYNES: Well, I think the important point for everybody to remember is there is no one normal reaction to experiencing a trauma then and to experiencing an anniversary. So there is a wide range of emotions. Some people will want to watch everything that they can find so that they can feel in some kind of control and remember, and other people will want to avoid anything about 9/11, and that will be their way of coping. I think it's important that people realize that whatever their own individual need is is normal.

WHITFIELD: So what would be your recommendation to people who feel like they're struggling, but they can't necessarily reach out to get any professional help? Instead, they really are kind of tangling with their own emotions. Is it a matter of just coming face-to-face with your emotions and realizing it is really OK to feel these anxieties? BINDER-BRYNES: Yes, one of the things that I like to tell my patients and people that I know is that emotions after a trauma are like a wave, and the most important thing to do is sort of allow it to wash over you and not fight it and realize that just like a wave, it is going to pass and that you're going to come to the surface again. And I think, of course, there is no stigma to asking for help or talking to anybody that you feel comfortable with about your feelings. We're all going to be experiencing a lot of emotions, especially as the anniversary approaches.

WHITFIELD: What are the realistic expectations that most people are suffering from anxieties now should expect in terms of how long? We were just recently talking about today is the 10-year mark since Hurricane Andrew, and 10 years later now, there are an awful lot of anxieties that many people feel every hurricane season. So how normal or what is the expectation that most people can expect to feel? How long lasting would these anxieties be?

BINDER-BRYNES: Well, I think what's really important for people to realize is that there is no answer to that. Everybody goes through their healing process at their own speed. I do think that there will probably be a resurgence of a lot of emotion for people, particularly those people who were directly affected, and that at some point people will move on at their own pace. And that it's very important not to feel bad if people move at a pace that other people deem not fast enough. Trauma is a very individual experience.

WHITFIELD: Karen Binder-Brynes, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

BINDER-BRYNES: You're welcome.

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